Color Day!

Check me out in my colors... Today was color day at school. The colors for the event were blue and white, so of course, Jacob’s mother felt the need to be sure that he dressed the part. This was definitely a photo op, so we are sharing the experience with you (woohoo, big experience, eh? ;)!)
Evidently, there have been more theme days that we weren’t aware of. Amy did notice one day that all of the kids were in pajamas which she thought was somewhat strange. She didn’t think too much of it. Yesterday, there was a note on the back of the daily note sent home that they noticed Jacob’s mail box was getting full and wanted to remind us that we need to check it/remind us that there is one for Jacob. Yep, Amy forgot about it and when she checked, low and behold, there was a bunch of stuff in it. Menus, books, magazines and their newspaper. There was also a notice about bringing in a blanket and pillow which I guess was suggested on a questionnaire/survey that was given to the families. Probably before Jacob was enrolled… When we enrolled, we were told that they provided it and then they asked us to bring one in a couple weeks after he started. So now some things are starting to make sense!

Jacob is excited about going to school on color day!!!

Poor Jacob! Yes, you're momma dresses you funny, but at least you match... :D!

Adjusting Well

Jacob is really adjusting well to school. Amy can pull into the school's driveway, get him out of the car and into the school, put his stuff away and get ready to leave before he starts crying. He even puts his arms out to his teachers (as long as one of them are there). We are getting fantastic reports on how he is doing. Another big change for both school and even at home is his eating habits. He has been eating the school's food the past two days. We are hoping that his repetoire of food continues to grow.

Amy and I are now working on how to get Jacob to satisfy his hunger when gets home. He is fussy as soon as we walk in the door because he is so hungry, but hasn't quite figured out that eating will help and is just mad at us. Eventually, he starts eating and once his belly starts getting full, he totally turns around. We then get to have some play and giggle time with him.

Jacob hadn't really try saying any words and took a step back while he was sick for a couple of weeks. Now that he has been feeling a lot better, we are seeing a return of the want to say things. Tonight was the first time that we have heard him say cheese as he was eating his mac n cheese. Of course, it was a baby talk version of the word, but we couldn't definitely tell what it was. He is also working on please as well. There is signs of using sign language for more and he is more open to us showing him how to say please in sign language.

Jacob is definitely progressing now that he is well again and it is very fun to see. We are definitely enjoying this time with him and giving him lots of praise and applause!

Jacob finally got to play with kids his age outside of school this past weekend. We headed west so that Jacob could play with the twins, Zach and Hannah. They had a ball with each other. We hope that we can get them together a little sooner than the last time, but everyone is busy, so we will have to wait and see what we can do.

A special note of the night (even though we forgot to bring Jacob's chair) was that of Jacob sitting and eating like a big boy. This is the first time that he really enjoyed chowing his dinner and it wasn't baby food!! He had mac n cheese along with cheesy hot dogs. Saturday night was somewhat of a turning point for as he is now at least a little more willing to try to eat non-baby food. It has been hit and miss, but we haven't needed to keep pulling jars out of the cupboard. He has also been eating more of the school lunch too!!

***Mommy Note: Jacob's sweatshirt that he was wearing got dirty during dinner. The onesie that he is wearing was only for warmth and not looks... LOL!

Editor's Note: You may want to be sure that you don't have anything going on because this video is close to six minutes long (it might 5-1/2, but I don't remember...)

Sledding Time!

Although the weather outside was still pretty cold, I couldn't wait any longer to get Jacob outside using his sled. The timing might not have been the best since it was shortly before Jacob's nap time, but it was time to get outside... So, we packed on the clothes since it was pretty cold outside. He looked a little like the kid from the movie "A Christmas Story". He wasn't quite that bad, but he doesn't quite fill out his 18 month coat yet. We didn't think the 12 month would be warm enough for getting snowy.

The sledding didn't last a real long time because of the cold and quite frankly, me being out of shap for dragging a sled around in 15" of snow. Jacob seemed to have fun although I don't think he was too sure about daddy's navigation skills through the footsteps. I tried shortening this up as much as possible, but got to a point to just end the video editing and post it...

School Routine

Well, it has taken three weeks to get two full weeks of Jacob's new school. With Jacob being sick, it was pretty difficult to get into a routine as it has still taken him time to recover and adjust. We have been continually better reports on Jacobs days at school and he is adjusting fine.

On Wednesday or Thursday during one of Amy's "checking in" calls, they said that he was having a fantastic day. He smiled the whole time they were outside and was even caught smiling inside a little bit. We noticed a big difference in him after he got home as well. It was probably the first time in quite a while that we were able to tickle Jacob and/or play with him a little bit. He was very happy and was even eating better.

Friday's day at school found Jacob engaging in the circle of kids and playing with them. He was really enjoying himself and is now taking better naps too! When Amy was getting Jacob ready to leave, one of Jacob's teachers made a comment about how he has some funny smiles when he is feeling better.

We probably still have a week and a half to two weeks for Jacob and us to get into a better routine. The school said that it usually takes a good three weeks of being there all of the time for the kids to get into the groove. We have two weeks in, but it was broken up with the flu, so hopefully it won't be much longer. It sure is great to be able to see that silly smile and tickle Jacob to get those giggles going...

Yackity Yack Yack

Is it yackity yack yack or yuckity yuck yuck? Forutnately, Jacob and the rest of us have the flu behind us. We can still hear the hoarseness in Jacob's voice from a cold that he has. His coughing has been reduced and he doesn't seem to be as congested. You can definitely tell that he is feeling better as his personality quotient is definitely on the rise.

Amy and I are hoping that the snow we have will last until the weekend and that it will warm up a bit. We bought a sled for Jacob before Christmas to get him outside, but we haven't been able to take advantage of it yet. Between being busy during the Holidays, being sick and now being cold, the opportunity just hasn't presented itself, but we are chomping at the bit to get him outside and enjoy the snow to the fullest.

Yeah!!!! We Found Jacob!!

After a week's worth of cleaning messes, docotor visit, missing work and all of the fun that goes along with a sick child, Jacob is over most of his ailments!

Jacob attended school for the first time this week on Friday. It was a pretty rough day, but Amy checked in (called) on him fairly often. He was pretty fussy, but was consolable so we didn't go pick him up. School was like starting over again.

Jacob is somewhat back to being himself today. He definitely happier than he has been in quite a while. We have seen sustained giggles, smiles and dancing. He is, however, a little hoarse as he has been coughing a fair amount. This has caused some coughing up of things, but nothing like we dealt with earlier in the week.

Jacob was very playful in his chair after eating a pancake. He was very much into sticking his tongue out all over... I think his mommy migh have had something to do with that...

Here's Jacob playing with the camera... You had to be there, but it was pretty funny. He totally looked right at the camera and pushed his chin right towards with some real attitude. He was really playing with us.

It's A Toss Up!

It's a toss up... No pun intended. Jacob hasn't been to school all week and still may not be tomorrow...

Everyone was ready for work and school this morning and Jacob was even in the car when... Jacob lost all of his milk from 5 am and the banana strawberry food. Amy came back through the door as I was walking by and I wondered what she was doing until I saw Jacob. We both handled him with care so that neither one of us would get anything on our work clothes. This was at least until we figured out who would be staying home with him one more day. We decided it would be me.

Jacob did fine today and was gaining speed with being better. He was alternately drinking and eating. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to my liking, but he was eating and drinking and keeping everything down. Then, it came dinner time and he ate applesauce and a little bit of chicken noodle. It wasn't too awful long after that and he no longer had any of it in his stomach. We tried pedialyte close to an hour later and that came up too. So, we let him sleep on us while he was restless to calm down. Amy put his to bed, so now we are wait and see what happens tonight before we determine whether or not he goes to school and/or the doctor once again tomorrow...

Jacob Vs. The Flu - Round II

The attack of the flu hits us again. The first round found it to be only Jacob of which he fully recovered from a little over a week ago. Jacob became really fussy and did not want to eat when some of my cousins were over. He was having a ton of fun with Kylie and Will until it was time for dinner. He absolutely would not sit in his high chair, so we didn't force him to eat. We were able to get him to bed without too much trouble.

About 10:30 or so Saturday night, Jacob woke up crying. I went in to console him and went to move his blanket when I felt something wet. I hollered down to Amy to come up because I needed some help to clean Jacob up as well as his crib. Jacob was inconsolable and was thrashing about in our arms and on the floor. He had bumped his head earlier in the day and was wondering if the two were tied together, so Amy decided to take him to the hospital. While were on our way, he calmed right down and went to sleep. Keep in mind that we got a bunch of snow, but we still decided to go for a drive while we were out. At least it had stopped snowing by then.

Eventually, we got back home after driving around for an hour. Amy and Jacob spent most of the night awake and Jacob relieving himself. I took the day shift over while Amy got some shut eye. He just wasn't keeping anything down. We did have some pedialyte and he wasn't keeping that down either.

Jacob wasn't himself Monday morning and had thrown up some time during the night on Sunday. So, we ended up taking him to the doctor. Jacob had lost 6-7% of his body weight in a week or so and the doctor was concerned. She said to basically get him hydrated and if he wasn't able to keep anything down during the day to give them a call and that we would probably just have to take him to the emergency room. Fortunately, he was able to start holding the pedialyte down. He just hung out on me all day and then on his mother after she got home from work. Things seemed to be looking up at least a little bit as he was starting to move around a bit and we actually got a couple of smiles out of him.

THEN, I wasn't feeling so hot. Amy was hungry and had to fry up some salami for her dinner. This was all I needed. As soon as she got done with it, I headed for the bathroom. Yep, I know had the flu too. It wasn't real long after that that now we had our third victim... You guessed it, Amy was now sick too. Jacob slept through most of the nighgt and then woke up early, so Amy and I took turns holding him and trying to get him to drink.

Amy attempted going to work as I had already planned on taking a second day off or Jacob and was sent home shortly after she got there. I thought I was starting to feel better and was thinking about going to work. So, I went out and blew the driveway out, etc. Then, I took a turn for the worse again. Jacob now became a little unconsolable again and neither Amy or I could sway, bounce or whatever we would normally do to console Jacob. So, Amy made a call to her mom. She came right over and ended up taking Jacob back to her house so that he hopefully would not get reinfected again and give us a break and rest ourselves.

I am now doing pretty well, but Amy is still sipping vernors and hoping things don't continue to move. We hear that Jacob is doing a little better as well and hope he continues to get better. We are hoping that everyone will be at work and Jacob will be in school by Thursday... Keep your fingers crossed!

First Week Complete

Amy, Jacob and I have survived the first full week of work and "school". The week started out great and ended great, but the middle was a little stressful on mostly Amy. I think she handled things well, but I'm sure if you ask her she wouldn't think so. However, she is beginning to feel much better, especially after one of her phone calls to school on Friday. She was told that Jacob was in the gross motor room running all around and dancing, yes dancing to the music that was on. At that point, we knew that he must be enjoying himself and we both wished we could have been flies on the wall to see him dance. He definitely has his mom's rhythm and ability... ;)!

Amy was a little saddened when she went to pick Jacob up. There is a big room with winodws all around it that kids can be depending on the number of kids and teachers that are there. Amy saw Jacob in this room sitting at a table coloring with two other girls when she got there. She tried getting Jacob's attention, but then figured she could take this opportunity to gather his snow clothes, sipppy cup, etc. before picking him up. This is when she realized that he was having fun and didn't need to see him mommy... Well, this all changed when she called his name as he quickly turned to her and saw her and started pointing. Jacob couldn't get out of the chair fast enough and started running towards her with the biggest smile you could ever see! The other mothers that were there even made a comment on how cute Jacob was as he was running towards his mom.

Jacob was much happier tonight and actually played a little bit. He was a lot less tired as he took a longer nap during the day. So, he seems to be liking school a lot more now, but is still transitioning. The school thinks he is doing well and also told us that the transition is usually about three weeks. We are already seeing some changes in him which one of the biggest is that he is much more comfortable sleeping or at least attempting to sleep just about anywhere. He seems to be more at ease with just putting his head down on the floor and curling his legs under him with his butt way in the air (like he does in his crib) and just going to sleep or at least relaxing for a moment.

All in all, although it was rough at times, we are feeling pretty good about the progress Jacob has made with going to "school".

A Couple Of Rough Days, But Getting Better!

The past couple of days have been rough at least in part if not the whole day...

Jacob started off yesterday a little tired and clingy at home. He took his bottle well along with some cereal before he was loaded up for school.

Jacob was apprehensive about his mommy leaving him as his favorite teacher was not there. It was a rough day for Jacob and Amy made a number of calls hoping that things were getting better. He was pretty upset most of the day, but was very happy to see his mommy when she went to pick him up. He was VERY happy once he got home even if he was a little tired.

Today's drop off wan't much better, but Jacob's favorite teacher was there which made Amy feel much better. Amy could hear him screaming down the hall as she was leaving. The school called Amy later to let her know that he did calm down relatively quickly and that he was having a much better day. He went for a walk outside in the morning and then a buggy ride in the afternoon. Jacob's teachers asked/commented about him liking to be outside and we concurred. After all, he still gets excited when Frankie needs to go outside, even if he isn't really outside, he at least gets some fresh air.

Jacob ate better today, but didn't sleep much. He only slept for about 45 minutes, so he was ready for bed when he got home. We fed him and Amy gave him a bath and he was ready for bed early. We tried keeping him up a little longer, but decided just to put him to bed early and he is now and has been sleeping soundly. Fortunately, going to school has tuckered him out and hasn't been fighting sleeping.

First Day Of School

Jacob, Amy and I survived the first day of school. Jacob was definitely out of sorts when he was stripped from his bed and whooshed downstairs and getting milk and cereal shoved in his face. Then it was back upstairs to get changed into a cute outfit (yes, Amy input...) and a few last minute things and out the door...

Jacob was dropped off in the infant room to Miss Kenisha whom Jacob met while we were touring and signing up. He was a little apprehensive at first so she backed off and then took him after a bit. Amy got Jacob's belongings settled and said goodbye to Jacob. He wimpered a bit, but then was okay. Amy did a couple more things and then looked in the window before she headed off to work. She saw Jacob sitting on Miss Kenisha's lap reading a book and was content. It didn't help keep the tears from falling, so Amy quickly headed to the car and settled herself before heading off to work.

Jacob did really well today and Amy only called the school four times. I'm sure this isn't even close to the record of calls for a first day though... The first call found Jacob to be very clingy to Miss Kenisha, but he was doing fine. By lunch time, he was getting pretty tired and wimpered a bit because he didn't have his passy and apparently they couldn't find it and found a new one in their stash and immediately went to sleep.

Amy went to pick Jacob up tonight and found him in the infant room (this is the gathering place when the workers are coming and going). He was playing with some toys and looked up and gave him mommy a big smile and continued playing and pointing to something, so he was obviously enjoying his first day at school.

Jacob was very happy when he arrived home, but also was very tired. So, we were able to get him back into his routine from before and putting him to bed at 8 pm. It was a little rough for him to go to sleep, but his sleep training has been getting easier and easier.

So, the first day of school went well for everyone and I am sure Jacob will be looking forward to another day away...

A Poop Story

Earlier, I was posting a blog about the status of Jacob and his bowels... As I finished and posted the blog, I hear a voice from above... "Can you please come up here and hurry!". Jacob was upstairs getting a bath, so what could this be. As I enter the bathroom, I see Jacob kneeling in his tub and Amy is frantically draining the water and rinsing it out! It would appear that there was an accident...Jacob's diarrhea was in full force and turning the bath water brown!

Amy tells me to pick Jacob up from the tub so she can clean out the poopy water and refill it with fresh water. Tomorrow is a big day for Jacob and she hasn't even gotten to washing his hair yet! So, I picked him up and stood him on his towel and proceeded to clean his bottom. While Amy was still cleaning the tub, Jacob decided he wasn't done yet. So, there was more cleaning for me. Jacob was just as happy as could be just standing there naked, wet and pooping like a free bird. He decided to take a few steps away and was far enough so that he was off of the towel and now on the tile. I had cleaned up the towel, so that was done. Jacob now decided (like he has a choice at this point), to drop another pile. I quickly covered it with some tp. It wasn't much longer and the pile got bigger. Amy and I gave the little guy a couple more minutes to be sure he was finished. The knee pad was still next to the tub and Jacob would look at each of us wondering if he should/could climb in the tub. Just as Amy and I were laughing at this whole situation and definitely enjoying the humor in it Jacob decided he also needed to pee so we just giggled some more as we just watched our son freely pee all over the knee pad. I still had tp in my hand as a backup plan and did some covering. Jacob was then placed back in the tub and the bathy calmly continued!

Although it was a little gross the humor in the situation can't be denied and it will go into the books as our first "poop in the tub" story!!!

Originated by Doug; Re-written by Amy... ;)!

Go Away Poopies?

Jacob's bottom is looking much much better than it did, but still has a little bit to go to be back to normal. Unfortunately, he still has the poopies too. However, they are not near as often or as bad. The doctor told us that it isn't contagious and that he is fine to go to his first day of school tomorrow. We are hoping that "things" will bind up a bit so that Jacob is not sent home. This would stink for the first day... no pun intended. I really wish I would have gotten something in writing to cover us in case something happens. We might just call the doctor tomorrow anyway if things are different in the morning. Jacob is back to his playful self and hasn't been wanting to nap much at all. So, we let him sleep, finally, lat this afternoon for an hour. Enough to keep him from having a complete meltdown, but no too much so that he doesn't get back into a routine.

Tomorrow is Jacob's big debut at school. Big changes for everyone as it will be the first day of school for Jacob, first day of work for mommy away from Jacob and my first day back after being off for close to two weeks. Not to mention that I will now have to share the shower in the morning. This is something that I haven't had to do in well over a year. We are looking forward to working the kinks out and adjusting our morning schedules and agendas. I'm sure it will take a week or two for all of us to get into the swing of things and knowing what to expect, etc.

Warming Up!

After Jacob's appointment today and finding out that he is not contagious, Jacob and I ventured to his school that he is starting on Monday. We decided that since it has been some time since he was there for the tour, etc. we would let him play with hopefully one or both of his new teachers and possibly some of the kids.

Jacob was pretty tired by this time, so he clung to his daddy for a little bit and didn't want down. Before too long, I got on the floor so that he could see everything at his level. We weren't in the room that he was going to be in, but many many of the kids and teachers were not in today because of the holiday season. Jacob was able to play with one of the kids in his class and a teacher that he will have for a week or so. He was really warming up by the time we left and as I was putting my shoes on, he wanted to go back in to play.

Looks like Jacob will be ready for school on Monday. We have to get some things ready and labeled for his big debut, but we think this will be a good thing for everyone, even if Jacob's mommy will struggle with it at first... ;)!

A Poopy Time!

The bugs are a flyin' this year! Jacob decided that he needed to do a #2 in the afternoon of New Year's Eve and let's just say it was the start of things to come. His bottom was a little red, but didn't seem to be anything to worry about. So, we were off to our New Year's celebration...

Part way through the party, Jacob needed to have a diaper change. So, I headed upstairs out of the way of any passersby and a little less noise for Jacob. He was pretty upset and was crying a fair amount. We thought it was because he was just a lot tired... While changed another messy diaper and not quite having the new one buttoned, Jacob started hacking because we think he just had himself so worked up... Well, if it was this or not, we will never know, but I quickly picked him up because of the hacking when Jacob let loose all over my shirt and pants. His freshly eaten brownie was the most noted. After relieving himself, he settled right down and allowed us to get cleaned up and rejoin the party.

We were able to keep Jacob consoled until the drop of the ball and the pinata. The 15 plus kids were anxious for both and Jacob just cowered with me in a dark corner... It wasn't too long after a little more visiting that Jacob starting to get upset again, so we decided it was time to leave because he was tired and not really feeling himself.

On the way home, we tried going as fast as we could (can't push it that much on New Year's Eve). We got close to our exit when we knew Jacob was getting worked up again and pushed ourselves a little more. Whoops! Too late! Jacob yacked again all over his coat and car seat. I considered running red lights, but again, not on New Year's Eve...

By this diaper change, Jacob's bottom was on FIRE!! as we coated/caked it with Desitin. It was a rough night getting and keeping him to sleep as we have already been having issues at night that we were planning to start working on again.

New Year's Day was spent changing many dirty diapers and trying to console Jacob with Motrin and gas drops as the poopies just kept happening. We also kept pushing water on Jacob of which he was happy to oblige. His bottom started showing some relief later in the day, but there was still some concern that this might be a reaction to one of the shots. Depending on the source, symptoms could show in the first 7 days or they could show after the 7th up to the 12th day. The side affects could include fever, diarhea, swollen glands and a rash.

We decided to call the doctor and get him in today to get checked. Jacob's bottom was definitely better, but the poopies weren't. After a visit with the doctor, Jacob was found to have a stomach virus. We were told to give him pedialyte, apple juice, bananas, etc. to help him out. He was also given an antifungal ointment for his bottom.

We know that Jacob was definitely in pain during his diaper changes because he would just shake and/or chew on his shirt sleeve during it. He has been a real trooper this whole ordeal as he has not really batted our hands away, etc. and has allowed us to clean him and get some cream on to help his bottom. It has really wiped him out, so we are hoping that we can all get a great nights sleep tonight...